Many underwater operations are conducted by divers using self-contained underwater breathing apparatus which are conventionally known as SCUBA tanks. However, in many industries such as in the offshore oil industry, the use of SCUBA equipment for conducting underwater operations is banned.
Such a ban was imposed by the International Marine Contractors Association (“IMCA”) primarily because of the lack of communications with the surface, and because the limited duration of the air supply which divers employ creates a hazardous situation for divers. Current conventional water communication equipment can be unreliable and interference caused by a ship's propulsion systems, echo sounders, impressed current systems, and other like devices can render such communication devices useless at critical times.
Today, most jobs offshore use a conventional diving support vessel employing a dynamic positioning system (“DPS”). However, the majority of such diving support vessels employing a dynamic positioning system are quite large, and cannot operate in shallower water depths. Moreover, standard diving support vessels cannot operate in areas where there is a high concentration of pipelines prohibiting the use of anchors.
As a result, some form of portable air supply system employed on a small boat has been used in the past in a variety of configurations. Such systems typically employ a heavy metal framework which contains between three to six large air storage cylinders. Such a frame includes a dive control panel and some type of hook or basket arrangement for storage of umbilical tubes (e.g., air supply and communication lines) used by divers, typically by two divers. When employed, the majority of these systems weigh at least one ton or more and requires a crane or forklift to mobilize and deploy.
One disadvantage of such systems is that a great deal of stress is placed on the bottom of an inflatable or other type of boat. Further, since such systems are used in the Civil Engineering industry, a great deal of the work is carried out on docks, inland waterways and reservoirs. Some of the areas in which such systems are required to be used are inaccessible for cranes or forklifts to operate in. Moreover, all of the systems currently in use today suffer from the fact that when the air or gas mixture has been depleted, the boat has to return to a parent vessel to recharge the unit.
In accordance with the features of the invention, the disadvantages of the currently existing portable surface demand systems are avoided, and there is provided a simple to assemble, light weight and easy to deploy system which can maintain a continuous supply of air or gas mixture to a plurality of divers, particularly at least two divers.